


Test Flight

by Gumnut



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25378921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gumnut/pseuds/Gumnut
Summary: Children usually take after their parents.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	Test Flight

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Test Flight
> 
> Author: Gumnut
> 
> 13 - 17 Jul 2020
> 
> Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS
> 
> Rating: Teen
> 
> Summary: Children usually take after their parents.
> 
> Word count: 2937
> 
> Spoilers & warnings: Slight season 3
> 
> Timeline: Season Two
> 
> Author’s note: Nutty’s Fandomversary 2020 Fic Two. For @tinglingsquidsense who asked for Scott and Butterflies. Thank you for the many, many reblogs over the last two years :D
> 
> Many thanks to @onereyofstarlight and @scribbles97 for the reading and cheerleading ::hugs::
> 
> Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.
> 
> -o-o-o-

“I don’t know about this, Brains.”

“The theory is s-sound.”

“But you said this was a first.”

“The theory is s-sound, Scott. V-Virgil is standing b-by.”

He certainly was. Thunderbird Two was a massive presence hovering not far off. His brother had gone through the schematics with him thoroughly. This was Virgil’s call and the engineer was being overly pedantic.

It was a flying pod, designed to take on the atmosphere of Mars.

Since the colony on the red planet had become viable, it had become abundantly clear that IR was the only agency that could respond fast enough should there be difficulties. This, in turn, became a need to be prepared.

They had the capability to get to Mars, but travelling around in the thin atmosphere was somewhat of a challenge. Three could get the majority of the travelling done and land-based pods would work there just as they did on Earth, but flying on Mars was more of a problem.

So, Brains and Virgil had developed an entomopter – a craft based on the flight of insects. Well, not entirely, there were a few other principles in there, but mostly butterflies and dragonflies and, well, flies in general.

The problem Scott was having was that insect flight was foreign to most of the mechanics of flight he was familiar with. This vehicle had wings that flapped. He felt like he was in a birdman rally.

But he was an experienced test pilot. He had this. He trusted both Brains and Virgil; that they knew what they were doing. Hell, the scale model flew beautifully and could turn on a dime. This was the frontier of flight.

He could do this.

“FAB.” It was a rush of breath. “Butterfly pod is go.”

At the flick of a switch, the craft’s massive wings deployed. Nano thin and built from the same cahelium thread that supported John’s space elevator, the sail-like structures unfurled from their compartments. Far from the pretty stereotype of the average butterfly, these wings were the red of Thunderbird Three and sported the IR logo in all its determined glory.

The moment the wing struts were in place, he felt them catch the wind. Their great surface area made them a touch vulnerable in Earth’s dense atmosphere and at some point, they would need to actually fly to Mars and test it out in the atmosphere it was designed for.

Assuming it survived this test.

A tiny gust rippled across the pod and only the claws gripping Tracy Island beneath it, kept it in place.

“You okay, Scott?” Virgil’s concerned rumble rolled over comms.

“Perfectly fine.” It was said through gritted teeth as another gust shook him. It could be a concern, the gusts were hardly ripples in the air, this vehicle was sensitive. “Launching now.”

The pod leapt from the cliff.

-o-o-o-

Virgil was chewing his bottom lip.

Everything checked out. The pod was designed with strong principles. It would be touchy in this atmosphere, but he had installed compensators. Scott was an excellent pilot. Hell, One was touchier than the pod should be and his brother had yet to fly his ‘bird into a mountain.

Test flights always made him edgy. This one more so because it was his call. This was the first major pod design since their father had disappeared.

They hadn’t needed anything new for so long. The original pod set up had been solid and dependable. Sure, some had been lost and replaced, but the array of designs had suited everything they had encountered. It was only now with the new colony on Mars and Brains’ recommendation for a general review that had created this situation.

Virgil trusted Brains with his everything. He always had. The man was a genius and Virgil could only aspire to his skill. But this was Virgil’s call. Brains was the engineer, but Virgil was the engineer in the field.

It was his responsibility.

His bottom lip tasted like iron.

Nerves.

That’s what it was.

“Are you sure I’m needed, Virg?”

“Buddy and Ellie can wait, Gordon.” Far below the yellow shadow of Four coasted in circles just under the surface.

“Aww, but I haven’t seen the latest one. They are releasing it today.”

“Focus, Gordon. This is Scott’s life we’re protecting.” Two hummed around him.

“Are you kidding? Both you and Brains went over that gadget. There is no way that is falling out of the sky.”

“There is always a level of uncertainty in every prototype. That’s why we have a test flight with safety in place, now focus!”

“Okay, okay, calm down, Virg. It’s going to be fine.”

Virgil didn’t answer. The butterflies in his stomach wouldn’t let him.

He was still trying to settle the horde when Scott declared the butterfly pod was go.

Virgil gripped the yoke of Two until his knuckles turned white. A corner of his mind was questioning his reaction. Nothing had happened yet.

Yet.

He should call a halt to this, something was wrong. He didn’t know what, but alarm bells were screaming in his head.

Below, the butterfly pod shifted as its wings fully unfurled. He nudged his comms. “You okay, Scott?”

His brother answered in the affirmative, but his tone was off. But before Virgil could say anything else, the pod was launching.

Those great wings rose and grabbed at the air. A giant red butterfly took off from the Island and into the sky.

Virgil had to admit it was amazing to watch.

Perhaps he was nervous because the design was so out of the ordinary. It was efficient and theoretically the pod should have some amazing manoeuvrability. That red wingspan was two thirds that of Two when fully extended. It was needed to capture that thin atmosphere on Mars. It could also collapse and spread on command, dip, dive and swoop just like a butterfly.

“Testing straight flight.”

The pod fluttered off in a northerly direction and Virgil moved to follow.

Those giant red wings were somewhat mesmerising.

“Testing ascent.” The pod climbed.

“Testing descent.” The pod swooped.

“Ease up on the speed, Scott.” Virgil found himself frowning at his dash.

“It’s fine, Virgil. I’m getting a good feel for it now. Testing for manoeuvrability.”

“Scott-“ But his brother was in whatever world he inhabited when flying for pleasure because it became immediately obvious that Scott was enjoying himself.

The butterfly did a series of swoops, turns, tilts and banks. At one point, Scott somehow managed to flip it upside down, something that was definitely not in the spec sheet and stopped Virgil’s heart for the duration. “Scott, for goodness sake!”

“Have to test its handling at the limits, Virg. Just being thorough.”

I’ll give you thorough. Virgil grit his teeth and moved Two in just a bit closer.

“Scott’s having a great time up there. Told you he would be fine.”

Virgil ignored Gordon in favour of contacting Brains. “Pod status?”

“P-performing extremely w-well, V-Virgil. I’m v-very happy with the r-results so far.”

He had to force himself to stop grinding his teeth. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, Virgil. Why? D-do you see a p-problem?”

No. He didn’t, but there was one. He was sure of it.

“Scott, I’m calling it. Return to base.”

“Why? She’s performing beautifully.”

As if his brother’s words were a curse, the wings of the red butterfly suddenly fell limp.

And the pod fell from the sky.

-o-o-o-

The wind came up that evening. Not strong, but blustery, enough to cover the ocean in whitecaps and to rattle the palm trees.

Scott emerged from his mandatory confinement just as the sun was making its way towards the horizon. Walking across the comms room to his father’s desk, his whole body creaked.

Being slammed into his harness as Thunderbird Two snatched the pod from its fall hadn’t been fun. He rolled first one shoulder and then the other.

Virgil had been beside himself.

As he reached the desk, Scott placed one palm flat on its smooth surface. Touching it felt like he was connecting with Dad. Like if he stayed in contact with the wood long enough, he could absorb his father’s wisdom through the laminate.

Dad, what do I do?

It was a question he had asked the empty desk so many times.

Two had grappled the pod from the sky before it could hit the ocean and immediately flown back to the Island, gently depositing the crippled flyer on the runway.

His brother then set his ‘bird to a hover and _rappelled down_ to check on Scott.

Virgil had been inconsolable.

He saw the whole incident as a personal failure. He had signed off a test flight that, in his words, could have gotten his brother killed.

Scott just shrugged it off and said it had been fun while it lasted.

The silent aghast in those brown eyes had shut him up pretty quickly. His brother then proceeded to scan him within an inch of his life in the infirmary and on finding the harness bruises had sent him to his room for the afternoon under threat of Grandma.

Scott had been of the mind to ignore Virgil, after all he wasn’t hurt that bad, but there had been something in his brother’s eyes. So, he had complied.

The comms room was eerily quiet except for the stiff breeze outside. A tap on the desk and his brothers’ locations sprang onto a holographic map. Gordon and Alan were holed up in the theatre and Scott remembered that it was Buddy and Ellie day. A frown and he considered checking up to make sure Alan wasn’t tied to a chair or something.

Brains was in his lab, Grandma was with Kayo in Auckland - they wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. John’s icon sat beside the display with its usual gold flare indicating his presence on Five.

That left Virgil, but really, he didn’t need a map to find his brother. He was exactly where Scott knew he would be.

A sigh and swipe of his hand killed the locator hologram. Edging around the desk he sat down heavily, leant his elbows on the desk and let his head fall into his hands.

His shoulders yelled at him, but he ignored them.

Dad, how do you console a brother who cares too much?

Virgil had been so excited about this new pod design. Brains had put together several ideas, but it was Virgil who chose which one to go ahead with. Scott had found him hovering over the specs for it several times during development. At one point, he had had to drag a dirt coated, exhausted brother away from a discussion with Brains about that exact subject. The man had been dead on his feet after three nasty rescues in a row, but had still found the energy to spout engineering terms all over the room.

The fact that he had then protested by throwing more of those engineering terms at Scott just proved how much he needed sleep.

Scott sighed. His brother was passionate.

Okay, Dad, damage control. He pushed himself up and out of the chair with a godawful creak.

Ouch.

-o-o-o-

As expected, Virgil was down in the hangars. But unexpectedly, he wasn’t working.

Scott frowned as he approached his brother from behind. The engineer was sitting on the hard concrete floor, elbows on knees, head in his hands in front of the remains of the crumpled red-winged flyer.

“Virgil, you okay?”

His brother startled and a pair of strained brown eyes turned to stare at him.

“Fine.” A grubby hand was pushed through Virgil’s hair. An aggravated exhale. “The pod’s a bust.”

“Hey, don’t let one failed test flight get you down. Find the problem, fix it and we can give it another go.”

“Did. Can’t.” Virgil unfolded from the floor and pushed himself to his feet. “The problem is a terminal one. This design is not going to work. And I should have seen it coming.”

Scott blinked. “What?”

His brother began picking up tools and packing them away. “The cahelium thread in the wings develops a charge as it moves through atmosphere.”

“Yes, even I know that.”

“Yeah, well, it couldn’t be discharged safely. Today’s incident fried every computer component in the pod.”

“What?”

His brother glanced at him before returning to tidying up around the wreck. “It’s not going to work, Scott. We’re back to the drawing board.” A clatter as a spanner was dropped. His brother bent to retrieve it.

“Are you sure?”

Virgil straightened and glared. “What? Did you miss the fact I almost got you killed?”

Scott sighed, but then... “Uh, yes, I did. Because I wasn’t in any danger.”

Brown eyes continued to glare at him.

So, he pushed his point. “You think you wouldn’t have caught me?”

“Of course, I could have missed!”

Scott’s snort was pure scoff. “Sure. Say you did. Say there was a micro-chance that your experienced hands slipped and missed and I did fall into the ocean. Gordon would have caught me. That is why we have a team for testing.”

“You shouldn’t have fallen at all! It was an obvious error and I missed it!” Virgil took a step forward. “It was a pathetic mistake!”

Scott stared at his brother. The man was furious, obviously with himself. “What about Brains?”

That made Virgil take a step back.

“You weren’t the only one on this project. What did Brains have to say about it?”

Virgil fell silent and his head dropped to star at his boots. “This isn’t about Brains. This is about me and my screw up.”

“You’re allowed to make mistakes! Dad-“

“Dad didn’t!” Virgil rounded on him. “Dad and Brains worked together on this project and look at all they achieved!” He flung out a hand to encompass the entire hangar. “I’m the only factor in this equation that has changed, Scott. I guess I’m not the chip off the old block I need to be!”

Scott stared at him. “You’re kidding.”

Virgil returned the stare. “What? You think you’re the only one who wants to follow in Dad’s footsteps? I may not be the pilot you are, but he was still my father. I just...wish...” But his shoulders dropped. “You know what, forget it. Forget the whole thing.” Virgil spun around and began to stalk away.

He honestly could not believe this. Scott straightened, projecting his voice. “You’re right, Virgil.” Every word reflected his absolute certainty. “You don’t take after Dad.” A swallow. “You’re stronger than that.”

That stopped his brother in his tracks. Virgil turned around to stare at him.

And Scott followed it through. “You take after Mom.”

-o-o-o-

His eldest brother never looked more like his father than he did in that moment. He resembled Jeff Tracy in look, stance and determination. Part of Virgil couldn’t help but react with defeat because he knew it wasn’t in him. He wasn’t Scott. He had at least thought he had his engineering, but apparently, he couldn’t make the grade there either.

But his mother?

He continued to stare at his brother.

Scott clenched and unclenched his fists. “Do you have any idea how much you look and act like Mom?”

Well, yeah, it was obvious...and part of the reason why he was so desperately looking for a piece of his father in him. He held up his hands. “Yeah, so?”

“Do you have any idea how I wish I had a trace of her in me? You look like her, you have her artistic talents...for goodness sake, Virgil, she was an engineer! I look to Dad because he is what I understand, what I’m made for. You? You are Mom.” An exhaled breath and Scott’s tone softened. “Have you ever considered why Dad achieved so much? He didn’t do it by himself. Mom wasn’t one for celebrity, she had her preferences and mostly kept herself behind the scenes...sound like someone we both know?” Scott looked down at his hands before looking back at Virgil, his voice quiet. “I will admit that I follow Dad and I have encouraged all of you to do the same. But Virg, don’t discount Mom’s strength. It’s the same as yours.”

Virgil was still staring. Scott had always been all about Dad. He rarely mentioned their mother. Virgil had assumed it was a symptom of grief and maybe it was, but...something glinted in the blue of Scott’s eyes. His brother managed to straighten even more.

“So, we still need a Mars pod.” He raised an eyebrow. “What does my Field Engineer want to do?”

Virgil couldn’t help but straighten in response. He had always been so proud of his older brother. Had always looked up to him, followed him around like a lost puppy at school. Where Dad was Scott’s hero, Scott had become Virgil’s.

And if Dad was Scott’s hero, then Virgil must be more like Dad.

But he was more like Mom. He remembered soft words, long dark hair and eyes like his own. Her piano which was now his and the help she gave him with his math homework.

Something small bloomed in his chest. He was a Tracy, but he was also a Taylor.

And Taylors were traditionally a stubborn bunch.

He caught his brother’s eyes. “We need a new design.”

“Well, if a butterfly didn’t work, pick another insect.” Scott shrugged. “How about something with a little more speed? Like a wasp or a bee?”

Typical. Virgil felt his shoulders relax just a little and an idea came to mind. Okay. “How about a dragonfly?”

-o-o-o-

FIN.


End file.
